Sovereignty of God

God’s administration over man

Be still,
and know that
I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

Given the level of significance attributed to the doctrine of the sovereignty of God, it was a surprise for me to learn that the word ‘sovereignty’ only occurs a few times in the literal-type English translations. The NASB uses the word most frequently, but even in that translation, only half the verses use it with regards to God.

KJV – 0 verses

No occurrences of Sovereign, Sovereignty, or any form of Sovereign.

NKJV – 1 verse

So Saul established his sovereignty over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the people of Ammon, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he harassed them. 1 Samuel 14:47

NASB – 8 verses

The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all. Psalms 103:19
“The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, And sovereignty from Damascus And the remnant of Aram; They will be like the glory of the sons of Israel,” Declares the Lord of hosts. Isaiah 17:3
While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, Daniel 4:31
At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me. Daniel 4:36
O king, the Most High God granted sovereignty, grandeur, glory and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father. Daniel 5:18
Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.’ Daniel 7:26
But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he wielded, for his sovereignty will be uprooted and given to others besides them. Daniel 11:4
which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 1 Timothy 6:15

ESV – 3 verses

And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, Acts 4:24
which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 1 Timothy 6:15
They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Revelation 6:10

This tells me that someone coined the phrase ‘sovereignty of God’ to summarize a concept seen in the Scriptures, not that doctrine was developed from a scriptural phrase. It also suggests to me that the meaning of the phrase is arbitrary and dependent on who uses the phrase. It didn’t take me long to check the websites of a couple of well–known men to see how they defined the phrase.

John MacArthur believes and teaches that God’s sovereignty means He “orders everything, controls everything, rules over everything.” In the article I looked at, MacArthur wrote that the implication of God’s sovereignty is that God decides who will be saved.

No doctrine is more despised by the natural mind than the truth that God is absolutely sovereign. Human pride loathes the suggestion that God orders everything, controls everything, rules over everything. The carnal mind, burning with enmity against God, abhors the biblical teaching that nothing comes to pass except according to His eternal decrees. Most of all, the flesh hates the notion that salvation is entirely God’s work. If God chose who would be saved, and if His choice was settled before the foundation of the world, then believers deserve no credit for their salvation.
Article by John MacArthur, accessed May 19, 2019

John Piper is a well-known author who gave a slightly different definition (although maybe not contradictory to MacArthur’s definition).

When we say God is sovereign, we mean he is powerful and authoritative to the extent of being able to override all other powers and authorities.

I’m arguing that nothing can thwart or stop God’s purposes. When all is said and done, Job says, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2). I think that’s just about the best definition of sovereignty in the Bible.
Article by John Piper, accessed May 19, 2019

In my opinion, there is a difference in emphasis between the two definitions. MacArthur’s definition implies a greater level of control by God. Piper’s definition speaks of God’s ability to overcome His adversaries, which allows the possibility that God’s adversaries could choose their path. This begins to confirm that the phrase is somewhat arbitrary in meaning.

Rather than try to define ‘sovereignty of God’, I think we need to identify and consider the core issue behind the phrase. It seems to me that behind the debate on God’s sovereignty is the question of how God governs mankind. That God is all-powerful and none can thwart His purposes is unquestioned every believer. But ‘all-powerful’ is not synonymous with ‘all-controlling’. Did God set up creation to operate under His direct control, or did He establish a different style of administration?

In this section of the website, I want to explore how God exercises His authority over mankind by looking at what was revealed in Genesis and early Exodus. The stories of Joseph and Pharaoh are widely regarded as foremost examples of God’s sovereignty in action. But before we dive into those stories, my plan is to explore the earlier chapters in Genesis. Perhaps God reveals key elements of His administration that lead up to the stories of Joseph and Pharaoh. So, let us begin at Genesis 1 and work our way through the book, looking for the development of God’s interaction with man and observe how the relationship between God and man works.